30 Days, 30 Prompts
by clearblueskies
Summary: Prompt no.5: Order: The screams ricochet off the stone walls again and again and again until Marlene can't tell which ones are coming from her mouth and which ones are the echoes.
1. Beginning

**A/N: 30 days, 30 prompts picked randomly. **

**1: Beginning (Marauder Era, mostly James x Lily)**

Lily didn't believe in epiphanies, in exalted moments of revelation. If she ever fell in love with someone, she wanted it to be slowly, like the peeling back of the layers of an onion. Or something. Unfortunately, her beliefs went down the drain on the 25th of February, 1977.

It was a Friday.

Nine pm, and Lily Evans was sitting in the common room in front of the fire on a squishy red armchair, legs curled under her, the newest edition of _Hogwarts, a History_ on her lap (Remus', he'd gotten it for Christmas, his friends actually got him things he liked and not high-heeled shoes). While no one would tell her this for fear of their lives, she looked rather like a ginger tabby dozing near the fire, one that you just felt like picking up and scratching behind the years and giving a bowl of creamy milk.

So there sat Lily, reading about the first ceiling of the great hall, that had reflected the moods of the various founders (this had ended rather badly when Salazar had had a bad day), when in walked James Potter and Remus Lupin.

The moon was two night ago, Lily knew, and it must have been a bad one, for Remus to have stayed in the hospital wing for so long. None of the marauders had been seen for that duration as well, so it must have been a _really_ bad one. Lily had heard rumours that involved Severus Snape, something to do with Black, the Whomping Willow.

Lily quickly unfurled herself and walked over to Remus. His eyes were closed, and he was leaning heavily on James. His skin was a sickly white, a dozen fresh bruises standing out sharply on his pale skin, and a heaviness to him that Lily had never seen before. Something was wrong.

"Remus, you look terrible!"

Remus nodded, weakly. James frowned at her.

"Back off, Evans." His voice was short and sharp, and wow, this was weird.

She glared at James, taking her gaze of Remus for a moment. "He's my friend too, you know, Potter," she started. "Usually it's Black who's all possessive and- oh!"

It hit Lily then, what had happened. Black, Whomping Willow, Sev, Remus, the empitiness in his eyes, the way he flinched, James' tense shoulders, the way Black had not left the dormitory for two days now-

She said "Oh," again, her brain refusing to function.

"Oh, Remus," she said. There was a lump in her throat. Black, no, Black couldn't have done this, he wouldn't have done this to Remus, Remus was his friend, he loved Remus-

_I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!_

"Oh, _Remus_," she said, and she hugged him. She wormed her arm in between him and James, and let him lean on her. People had often praised her ability to hug. She didn't do it too tightly, squeezing just a little bit, knowing when exactly to pull away. He was light, lighter than he had any right to be. She closed her eyes.

She drew away slowly, still letting him lean on her until he shifted his weight onto James. For some unfathomable reason, her cheeks were wet.

"Sorry," she muttered, wryly, wiping her face. "Not very good at comforting people, am I?"

Remus smiled, his face lighting up for a moment, and it was worth embarrassing herself in the middle of the common room to see it. And James- James was looking at her with a deep, unfathomable expression that made her stomach do funny things when she met his eyes. _No, Lily_, she told herself. _Focus on Remus now, not gorgeous-hazel-eyes_.

With considerable effort, she tore her eyes from him and looked back at Remus, who still had a faint smile on her face, though she could swear that it now had a pinch of a smirk. She turned slightly pink.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave you to it, then," she said, rather too quickly, before adding, "Black's in the dorm," to James in an undertone.

She picked up her book again and watched as James led Remus to a corner of the common room that had, since third year, been declared as off limits to non-marauders. She watched as James said something to Remus and walked quickly up the stairs of to the boy's dormitory. Remus closed his eyes again.

Lily had thought about liking Remus. He was so much like her that it was almost scary. He read more than her, muggle and wizard books alike, and was the only person she could talk to about the Beatles and muggle politics. He wasn't bad-looking either, she had to admit. She laughed with him and argued with him and cried about Severus to him and joked about how they both had 'monthly cycles' and would have probably killed Sirius Black for doing what he had done if it weren't for the fact that Remus wouldn't want that.

She had thought about liking Remus, but had never really gotten around to it.

Also, well, it probably wouldn't have helped her case that Sirius looked at him like James looked at Lily, and had been known to hex every girl who flirted with Remus.

_Talk of the devil_, thought Lily, as Sirius ran down the stairs, a whirlwind of desperate energy. He launched himself towards Remus, and then stopped five feet away, waiting for a judgement.

Remus saw her looking, and met her gaze with understanding, before turning to look at Sirius. He said something in a soft voice, and Sirius made his way over tentatively. Then in one fluid movement, he lurched at Remus, and buried his head in Remus' shoulder; he was shaking a little, whether from laughter or tears or relief, Lily didn't know.

So that was that, Lily thought. Maybe it was because she had loved Severus, really really loved him, but had never been _in_ love with him. Maybe that was the difference. Maybe that was why Sirius had got a new beginning, a second chance, when Severus hadn't.

"That's nice to know," said James. She turned over her shoulder to look at him. He shot a grin at her, and moved his hand halfway to his head before jerking it down again.

"Was I speaking out loud?"

"Yep," said James. He shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled at where his friends were sitting, and she was suddenly struck by the enormity of it all, struck by just _how much_ he loved his friends, and he was probably the reason Sirius had a black eye, struck by the sudden realisation that he would do what was right, and would die doing it if need be, and was she seeing the cuts on his face like the Whomping Willow had been attacking him only _now_ and- _oh_, he had saved Severus, hadn't he?

Then he glanced at her.

"You look like a little ginger tabby, you know, all curled up next to the fire," he said. "I half want to scratch you behind your ears and bring you a bowl of milk."

10 pm, and Lily Evans fell in love with James Potter.

* * *

**A/N: (Again, yes, sorry.) ****A new story every day. Probably. These will be completely Harry Potter, no other fandoms, but there will be different ships. Mostly Marauder era, because I can't get enough of them, but there might be one or two other-era fics. **

******They will mostly be around a thousand words, and also probably interconnected. If I finish early, then MAYBE I'll take requests. This is basically to get me to get off my fat arse and start writing more.**

******Reviews are awesome and motivating, so pleaseeee review, even if it is to yell at me for being lazy. It'll encourage me and I will give you cookies.**


	2. Haze

**a/n: It's rated 'T' for a reason, guys.**

* * *

**prompt no. 2: haze**

there's a burning in his chest, and yes, burning is good, the fire spreads form his toes and makes its way to his arms, and is almost to his brain, to glorious numbness, when the lips pressed against his own let out a murmur

'remus,' they whisper, kissing his throat, making their way to his ear, nipping at the earlobe with sharp teeth, 'remus,' they whisper, biting his lip, 'remus, remus, remus'

there's something wrong here, something terribly, terribly wrong, and that's a sign, the whisper, they aren't supposed to whisper _remus_, there's something wrong, it's not remus, his name isn't just remus, he's someone else, he had another name-

'_moony,' sirius says, like a prayer, like remus is the best thing he's ever seen. 'moony, i love you.'_

_he presses hundreds of kisses on remus' neck, thousands down remus' chest_

'_moony, i love you, and i'm going to kiss you all over, moony, moony stop blushing like a virgin maid, i know for a fact that you're not, i know you're a dirty dirty bugger, moony, and i love you-'_

hands fumble with the buttons on his shirt, cold, harsh hands, with rough fingernails, and that's wrong too-

'_you have girl's hands,' remus says one night when they've finished and sirius is lying next to him, naked and beautiful and definitely a dream. _

'_so you've told me, a thousand times, and yet, you like them well enough when i do this-'_

_remus yells and scrambles away from sirius' hands as they wriggle lightly at his stomach_

'_i hate you, black!'_

'_love you too, lupin'_

but his lips part and there is hot, moist breath in his mouth, a hint of something fruity _(wrong wrong wrong it's supposed to be spearmint) _and remus yells at his brain to shut the fuck up, forget it forget everything-

he wakes up the next morning in a foreign bed, and leaves within five minutes, without saying goodbye to the black haired man asleep on the bed, the black haired man who is not sirius.

* * *

**Before you review: ****Yes, there are no capitals. Yes, it's wierd. It's a style called 'hipster writing' that I wanted to experiment with. If you didn't like it, don't review.**


	3. Wind

**Prompt no. 3: Wind**

If words were wind, then Sirius Black and James Potter would make a hurricane. (Let us ignore the fact that they already had done so, just last year–But we were just practicing weather charms, Alice, we didn't mean it!-)

If words were silver but silence was gold, Sirius Black and James Potter would together have enough sickles to empty out the water in the great lake and replace it with molten silver. (Let us ignore the fact that they do, already have enough silver to do this, and have merely not thought of it yet.)

If you had to pay for words spoken thoughtlessly, Sirius Black and James Potter would be broke. (And that would take some doing.)

But that is not the point.

The point is that words are wind, and Sirius Black is a hurricane.

"Honestly, Black," she says one day, after a particularly destructive rampage through Hogwarts dressed as the three musketeers (they had forced Peter to dress as Milady and had chased after him brandishing swords stolen from suits of armour). "Don't you ever _think_?"

"It was a bet," he replied, giving her a suave smirk (and only Black could manage _that__ expression_).

"Dare I ask?"

"Will I get detention if I tell you?"

"Yes."

"Will I get a detention if I don't tell you?"

"Yes."

"Peter said that Remus couldn't finish reading _Hogwarts, A History_ in one day."

Alice felt her jaw drop. "That thing is three thousand pages, in tiny print!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What's your point, Prewett?"

"That's _prefect_ to you, Black," she replied immediately, fixing him with her stern-prefectly-gaze. "Detention for you and Potter, come to the trophy room at eight o'clock today." He nodded and turned to go.

"But what about Remus?"

"Twenty points to Gryffindor," Alice said, after a long pause. He grinned in a way that should have been manic, but somehow wasn't, and even Alice could feel herself go a little weak at the knees.

The next day, at breakfast, she received a bouquet of flowers that _didn't _squirt ink into her face, for what seemed to be no reason, from what seemed to be no one.

* * *

James Potter, while no less of a hurricane in prank-like aspects, was relatively calmer. More of a gale, perhaps. It was something that came to her attention when he'd offered to help her with her transfiguration essay.

"I'm in seventh year, Potter, and you are in the sixth. What makes you think you'd be able to help?"

He smirked at her in an infuriating manner that said, _I know something you don't_. "I got an O in my OWLs, Alice. What did you get?"

"An E."

"And why did you not get a capital P, 'Poor'?

"Because you tutored me," she mumbled at him, narrowing her eyes.

He smiled the charming smile that he had picked up from Black around the third year. "Precisely."

"And I suppose, James, that this sudden generosity has nothing to do with the fact that Lily Evans is sitting by the window and watching these proceedings with great interest?"

He clutched dramatically at his chest. "I am _wounded_, Alice, _wounded_!"

"Drama queen." She patted the chair next to hers. "Sit."

An hour later, Alice was tired, hungry, and knew a whole lot more about Gwamp's Laws of Elementary Transfiguration than she had when she had started.

"Thank you, Potter," she sighed, and he smiled at her, his real, James Potter smile that she knew because of boring social events they had both been forced to go to as children.

"No problem, Alice" he said, shoving his chair back and stretching. He gave her a mock salute. "I'm off. Say hi to Gideon and Fabian for me."

"Will do, Potter."

Another hour later, as she frogmarched him and Black to McGonagall's office, she patted him on the head and gave him a packet of chocolate frogs.

* * *

Remus Lupin was somewhat a mystery to Alice, just as he was to pretty much everybody besides the Marauders and Lily.

He was quiet, and seemed to be always reading. He was obsessed with chocolate, everybody knew. He had an air about him, an air that was magnetizing, that drew people to him. There was a bunch of first years who he tutored in his spare time, a sofa in the library that he had charmed Madam Pince into keeping exclusively for him. Alice knew about the free pass to the restricted section that Professor McGonagall had given him, in return for which he kept James and Sirius out of the library.

She used to think that he was like a zephyr, gentle, calming, quiet. Lily had often snorted at that, but Alice had been convinced. That was until last year, when he had been made prefect.

Her first proper conversation with him had been a lengthy argument about how the Slytherin Common room wall was animate.

"What I'm saying, Lupin, is that is _has_ to have been an animation charm, those were invented by Rowena, if you remember, and-" Alice said, with much gusto and hand-waving. She could see Lily smirking in the background. 'Zephyr?' she mouthed. Alice shot her a glare.

Remus took the opportunity to cut in. "It _can't_ be an animation charm because those are much too simple! This is a sentient creature, with deep intelligence. And it can't be de-animated, all animated objects can be de-animated!" He paused, guilt flashing through his eyes.

Alice sighed, and stopped glaring at Lily. "I'm _not_ going to ask you how you knew that, Lupin, and I'm going to assume that this has nothing to do with last year, when the Slytherins were shut in their common room for one whole week."

"I, uh... read it in a book?" Remus attempted, smiling unconvincingly.

"I'll take your word for it," Alice said dryly, "I like you, Lupin, and I don't want to give a prefect detention."

A breeze, Alice had decided, as he chuckled and waved goodbye, walking over to where Sirius was waiting impatiently for him. Sirius did that a lot, like he was afraid the prefects would corrupt Remus with their rules and, to quote, 'Utter wankish knickers-in-a-twist, stick-up-the-arseness.' Remus was a breeze, cool and calm and clever, bright and refreshing, with sudden bouts of both mischief and madness during which he snatched away people's hats from their heads and locked the Slytherins in their common room.

* * *

Alice had never spoken to Peter Pettigrew, but she had observed him. She couldn't understand why the other three boys were friends with him. With James, she supposed that it was a certain urge to protect those weaker than him, an instinct that he'd had even as a child. With Sirius, it was because he enjoyed being admired and doted upon; he looked at Peter like their personal pet fanboy. And she suspected that Remus did it out of pure kindness.

But she had also observed his shifty eyes, his sly words. The way he had been given only a few more detentions than Remus. The way he pretended not to understand what was going on in class so that James would help him with his homework. The way he looked at Lily resentfully, looked at her in a way that made Alice shiver.

Alice didn't like Peter Pettigrew, not one bit. She liked him even less than she liked pistachio ice cream, and that was saying something. Peter was like a drought, cool and quiet, creeping up on you slowly, and by the time you realise what's happening, it's too late and you've got a cold.

She'd mentioned this to Lily once, but Lily laughed and blown her off.

"Don't be silly, Alice," she'd said.

"I've heard him saying unpleasant things, Lily..."

"Words are wind," Lily laughed.

"If words are wind, then Black would be a hurricane," Alice replied, already forgetting her misgivings.

"He already is," Lily said. "Like a madder version of James." There was a blush on her cheeks as she said this, and it was Alice's turn to laugh.

"You've gone and done it, haven't you? You've gone and fallen in love with Potter."

"I can't help it, Alice! He's just- he's like- he's like-"

"A gale," Alice finished for her, smiling ever so slightly as Lily turned even redder. "And you're lost in it. Be careful, Lily Evans. I do hope you're wearing your coat."

"Alice Prewett, if that is some sort of innuendo, I will kill you."

"No comment."


	4. Light

**PROMPT NO. 4: Light**

Remus is still a chubby-cheeked, wide-eyed, lisping three six year old, with a scarred mess for a shoulder, when his pa sits him down and talks to him. His pa talks about many things that day, looking sadly down at the little boy sitting lying on the bed in front of him, as Remus' ma stands at the door and smiles comfortingly through her tears.

He talks about school and books and love. He talks about his work, and about things Remus doesn't understand. He uses the word 'condition' several times.

_No, the monster is never coming back, Remus, never._ (his voice cracks, but who can blame him, because the monster is never coming back, but now the monster is in his son, and it is all his fault.)

Remus says, _is everything going to be normal ever again, pa?_

_No,_ his ma says. _No, but we're going to get used to this new normal, and make it as happy as the old one._

He talks about the different kinds of people, and the different ways different people think. He talks about his childhood, and the war with Grindlewald, and the choices he made. He talks about the little cottage by the beach he had once lived in. He shows Remus a shell, a relic from another time, a time when his pa was the same age he is now.

_Were you happier then than you are now, pa?_ Remus asks, and Remus' pa looks down at the child lying on the bed, his own flesh and blood, despoiled by the same beast he had been hunting for so long- He looks into the child's eyes, his son's eyes, and meets them with his own, identical. Remus' ma walks over and puts her hand on her husband's shoulder.

_Well, m'boy. All I can say is that I wouldn't trade what I have now for what I had then. You and your ma are worth more to me than anything else. _His hand closes around Remus'.

Remus doesn't remember much of that conversation, to be perfectly honest, or understand, really. There is one thing he remembers, one line. It was the last thing his pa had said to him before Remus dozed off to sleep, and Remus still remembers his pa's serious face, the taste of chocolate on his tongue, reluctant to leave his mouth, the comforting weight of his mother sitting on the bed next to him and stroking his hair, the slight scratchiness of the bandages in sharp contrast with the soft duvet. "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on."

He still doesn't know if he understands, but he thinks he does, when Sirius breaks his heart and fixes it in the same day; when he says, _I'm not sorry, you know_, and then, _I_ _would die for you, Remus Lupin, and do it with a smile of my face and a song on my lips, but I would rather suffer for you instead_.

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**A/N: please please don't kill me. And no, I don't know what this is either. Just go with it. Also, guys, I don't mean to sound like a review whore, but frankly, getting these few reviews is depressing. And discouraging. I don't care if it's anonymous, guys! I care about the face that people care about my stories! I'm not going to be like those annoying authors who torture people by saying 'no new chapter unless you review trolololol!'. But _some_ would be nice. Thank you for your time, and thank you for reading my story!**


	5. Order

**PROMPT NO. 5 : Order **

* * *

The screams ricochet off the stone walls again and again and again until Marlene can't tell which ones are coming from her mouth and which ones are the echoes.

She lies on the floor, panting, feels the ache, the agony in her legs, her arms, her chest, her head, her _bones_, and for the first time in the week she has spent here, she wishes she were dead. It isn't the boy who is torturing her anymore, little Regulus Black, who always comes back later and says, _sorry, I'm so sorry_.

It is Bellatrix Lestrange.

Marlene struggles to open her eyes; her eyelashes stick to each other. Blood, she thinks.

When she finally manages to open them, there is blood in her eyes as well.

The slim figure towering over her lets out a delighted cackle. "She's awake!"

Marlene doesn't even have the energy left to flinch when a sharp heel digs into her already cracked ribs. She tries opens her mouth to speak, but her lips crack and nothing comes out. She licks her lips, and she can taste the blood, salty and metallic against a background of salty and metallic that is already in her mouth. But this taste is different, this is fresh, this is _alive_.

There's a sudden surge of adrenaline, and Marlene thinks that she should have run out of that by now.

She grits her teeth and uses her good arm to push herself into a somewhat sitting position. _Fuckfuckfuck_ is all she can think. _Fuckfuckfuck this hurts_. And then, _You're doing this for Dorcas_._ You're doing this for Dorcas, so you won't tell them anything that will hurt her._Bellatrix is looking at her, an amused smile on her face as she watches Marlene struggle.

She bends one leg.

_Fuck._

She bends the other.

_Dorcas._

She shifts her weight to rest on both her legs-

_Oh buggering hell!_

She shifts her weight to rest on one leg and her arm.

_Dorcas bloody Meadows_, _Marlene._

And she stands. Her shoulders are hunched in, and her good arm cradles the other protectively. One shivering, knee-buckling leg is planted on the floor, and the other touches the stone just enough to provide support. But she stands.

"Oooh, this one has spirit!" Bellatrix cackles, twirling her wand slowly in her fingers as she slinks towards Marlene. "What do you think, boys?"

There are two grunts and a whimper from somewhere behind her. Redwood, Lestrange and Regulus, she thinks.

She opens her mouth to speak again. There is a croak, strangled and tortured, and she suddenly realises why there is an ache in her mouth.

"Looking for this?"

Bellatrix holds something up. Something distinctly oval, and bright red in the shadowy light cast by the torches on the wall. She closes her eyes and tries not to vomit.

She opens them when she smells something dead and rotting, feels something warm on her face. Bellatrix is standing in front of her. _Her eyes and nose are just like Sirius'_, she thinks, and for some reason she laughs. There is an immediate slap on her face, sending her rushing to the ground.

There is a loud _crack_. Oh, that's her skull.

Bellatrix is leaning down towards her, till her face is inches away from Marlene's own.

"You find it funny, do you?"

Marlene can hear the words, she just doesn't understand them. Bellatrix's hair is in her mouth. Her own hair is dripping wet, and sticky. She's in her happy place, with Dorcas.

"Well, here's what I'm going to do now, love," Bellatrix whispers. "I'm going to leave you down here with the boys, how would you like that, hmm?"

Dorcas has such blue eyes, with hints of green and yellow and black, and Marlene has often told her that is she wasn't so completely, utterly in love with her, than she would probably hate her just for having such gorgeous eyes.

"Would you find that funny? Will you laugh then?"

Dorcas smiles like a little girl, half shy, half excited, half mischievous, half naive happiness. Marlene still remembers the feel of those soft lips pressed against her own in a smile. Marlene smiles.

Then she screams, or tries to, as a handful of hair is ripped from her head. What comes out is more of a strangled sob.

"Bella-"

"Shut up, Regulus."

"But-"

"Shut _up_, you pathetic little bastard!"

Marlene hears footsteps moving towards her, loud and with purpose. Regulus, she thinks, a second before the blade slips between her ribs. The last sound she hears isn't Bellatrix's scream of rage or a loud slap. It's Dorcas' laugh, loud and clear and beautiful.

* * *

**A/N: No**** update for four months because boarding school. But I'll finish it now, promise! :)**

**Also- First attempt at Fem!Slash. Comments?**


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